Alex North is the pseudonym of Steve Mosby, a British author who wrote his debut novel under his alias, The Whisper Man, published in 2019. Given the worldwide success of the author’s first book, new Alex North books are already eagerly awaited by a dedicated fanbase.
Reading the Alex North books in order is pretty simple at the moment, however, we will keep this section open for when new books will be written and released.
New Alex North Books
Alex North Books In Publication Order
- The Whisper Man, 2019
- The Shadows, 2020 (aka The Shadow Friend)
- The Angel Maker, 2023 (aka The Half Burnt House)
Anthologies and Short Story Collections
- Afraid of the Light: The Twistiest Short Stories of 2020, 2020 (foreword by Alex North)
Alex North Biography
Alex North, aka Steve Mosby, was born in Leeds, where he is still living with his wife and his son. The Whisper Man is his first book under this alias.
It took the author about one year to write the book, which was brewing in his mind for quite a while before that. Once written, the book was bought by Michael Joseph, an imprint of Penguin Random House UK, after a 5-way auction. Michael Joseph also bought the author’s second book which is yet to be published.
The story is about author Tom Kennedy and his 7-year-old young son, Jake, who move to a small village called Featherbank after Tom’s wife died.
Back in the day, some fifteen years ago, a serial killer was at work abducting and killing five young boys. The media called him The Whisper Man. The problem is, he might just be back since a young boy went missing from that very village Tom is living in now, and Jake seems to act a bit strange. He keeps saying he hears some whispers at the window.
Now, Det. Insp. Amanda Beck works the new case of the abduction of Neil Spencer and is helped by Det. Insp. Pete Willis who worked the case those years back.
The idea for The Whisper Man by Alex North came to the author when his own son was around 4 years old. Once his son told him that he loved playing with a little girl (who is invisible), and that he fears “boy under the floor.” This was after they moved to a new home. When a strange man tried to lure Jake away, the detective connected the cases and she tried to figure out how the old serial killer, Frank Carter, fit into all this. Thus, the idea of giving Jake an imaginary friend in the book was born.
While the book is a crime thriller, it also touches on the difficulty of a single father having to raise a grief-stricken son, and how tough it can be to connect with him.
The book rights have been bought in over a dozen countries including Germany, Finland, Holland, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Czech, Slovakia, Italy, Brazil, Poland, and Hungary, and the film rights have been optioned by AGBO, by the same directors, Anthony and Joe Russo, who worked on Avengers: Infinity War.
After the film was optioned, the author Alex North said in an interview
As an enormous fan of Joe and Anthony Russo’s film-making, I am absolutely delighted to be working with Agbo to bring The Whisper Man to the screen. I can’t imagine a better home for it.
Praise for Alex North
Alex North weaves a stunningly captivating narrative that’s a nuanced and grounded exploration of father-son relationships…a master class in genre exploration. An incredible read. (Joe and Anthony Russo)
The Whisper Man is the most unsettling thriller I have read since Jo Nesbø’s The Snowman. Much more than the sum of its parts, it is nightmarish and disturbing and, at the same time, a moving and life-affirming novel about fathers and sons, and grief, loss, and recovery. (Alex Michaelides)
Brilliant…an affirmation of the power of the father-son relationship…will satisfy readers of Thomas Harris and Stephen King. (Booklist)
The best crime novel of the decade (Steve Cavanag)
Shades of Thomas Harris and Stephen King but brilliant in its own right (C. J. Tudor)
An ambitious, deeply satisfying thriller – a seamless blend of Harlan Coben, Stephen King, and Thomas Harris (A. J. Finn)
References
Books Reading Order » Thriller Authors »
S Bloy says
Great story will be definitely following him!
Shelly L says
I love-love-loved “The Whisper Man” & have recommended it to family and friends! I absolutely CANNOT wait for “The Shadows” to be released! Keep em coming!! I’m already devoted!!
Dawn says
Brilliant book. Write a lot more
Eileen says
I loved “The Whisper Man” and hope to have the opportunity of reading more works by this great new author. Kudos to Alex North!